&#34;Simulockrum&#34; Lockpicking Game

ABSTRACT

This invention is a deductive lockpicking puzzle, composed of a clamshell style frame holding a central cylinder that is representative in appearance to that of a normal lock, with a single rectangular keyway in the center. The four locking pins in this device each have two opposing magnetic poles, generated by attached permanent magnets, on either end. Each “lockpick” has a unique pattern of four magnets so that when inserted into the keyway, complementary magnetic poles will attract a pin to the lockpick, generating auditory and tactile feedback to the player upon impact. Once the right lockpick is inserted, all four locking pins are magnetically removed from their resting positions, allowing the central cylinder to rotate ninety degrees to a solved configuration.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to puzzle games that require the player to deduce a cylinder lock's combination, using auditory and tactile stimuli as part of the feedback to assist a player's deduction, as well as having the ability to reset the puzzle such that the solution can be changed to one of sixteen possible configurations with ease, enhancing replayability. This toy dramatizes the act of picking a lock.

STATEMENT OF THE PRIOR ART

Dolev (US 2013/0091911A1, April 2013) under “Cylinder Lock Assembly With Non-Rotating Elements,” described a normal lock with spring assisted locking pins and a flat key that uses divots in lieu of the more popular ridge/teeth design on common house keys. The divots on the flat key are similar in action to teeth, in that they also allow the pins to extend or be depressed a distance that aligns the pins along a shear line that would permit the central cylinder to rotate upon key insertion into the look.

Felson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,336A. December 1968) under “Magnetic Lock Devices,” described a normal lock using a magnetic key, and where for each metal locking pin, there was an auxiliary magnet fixed on the lock housing. When the key is not present in the lock, the pins would be magnetically attracted to the housing and held across the shear line such that they prevent rotation of the key cylinder. Felson then proposed a key with a stronger magnet such that it would attact the locking pins to the key upon insertion. The key would also have a pattern of depressions, similar to teeth on a normal key, that allowed the lock to have an additional measure of security.

Fischer (DE834345C, 1950) under “Twin Keys” described a methodology “to make twin keys cheaper” as the purpose of his invention. German house keys sometimes had two ends with teeth, one side meant to be used to unlock the door from the outside, and the other end used to lock the door again from the inside. At the time each key was almost custom made and difficult to da locally, so Fischer proposed preformed guides so that the most common key teeth patterns can be kept in stock by local locksmiths and copies could be made on request.

This invention is a novel implementation of elements proposed in the devices above, but differs significantly in design and purpose. Dolev utilized a flat key but relied on spring assisted locking pins. Felson envisioned a magnetic housing that attracted a metal locking pin in competition with the magnetic strength of an inserted key, and Fischer proposed the concept of a twin sided key. These devices, foremost, were meant as security feature improvements for normal locks with a single fixed key combination, whereas the proposed invention is a puzzle that can be set to one of 16 possible key combinations. This invention also relies on gravity to maintain the locking pins across a shear line while at rest, dispenses with a magnetized frame, and utilizes dual sided “lockpicks” meant to assist in deducing the right locking pin combination.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses a deficiency in most board games, tabletop games, and role playing games where there is a lockpicking mechanic, as the typical player interaction in those instances involve a singular die roll and comparison to a target number, which lacks the deductive nature of lockpicking. The existing lockpick mechanics often reduce a player to a single brief action, and then they are reduced to waiting for other players to take their turns. This invention will permit the player to be occupied with deducing the combination of the lock when they are waiting, enhancing player engagement and game play. This invention may also have medical applications for developmentally disabled patients, as there is auditory and tactile feedback from locking pin movement or impact when they are attracted to, or repelled by, the magnet combinations on the various lockpicks when they are inserted into the keyway. Some patients respond better to these stimuli when undergoing therapies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the central lock cylinder with the location of the locking pins and rectangular access passage for the lockpick;

FIG. 2 shows the design of the locking pin, with opposing magnetic poles;

FIG. 3 shows the design of one lockpick, with four fixed magnets arranged in a unique combination at each end;

FIG. 4 shows the intended rotation of the central cylinder given matching complementary magnets an a lockpick;

FIG. 5 shows the lock assembly with the central lock cylinder enclosed in a clamshell base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Refer to FIG. 1 for the construction of the central lack cylinder and locking pin assembly. Starting with a wooden spool or other cylinder measuring 1½ inches by 2⅛ inches, drill a rectangular passage 1 through the central axis measuring ⅜ inches wide and 2/8 inches thick, stopping ⅜ inches short of the opposite end. This is the keyway where the lockpick will be inserted, and is approximately the thickness and width of three standard popsicle sticks.

Drill four 2/8 inch diameter holes 2 that intersect the wider side of the rectangular passage, starting from 2/8 inches from the edge of the spool with ⅛ in separation between holes. These holes should also terminate in a cone shape 3 before breaking through to the central passage, leaving a ⅛ inch hole, per FIG. 4. These holes will fit the 2/8 in locking pins and allow a ⅛ inch magnet to pass through, but prevent the entire pin from being drawn into rectangular passage.

Refer now to FIG. 2 showing that the locking pins are the size of a standard wooden dowel, ⅜ inches by 2/8 inches, with two rare earth magnets measuring ⅛ inch× 1/16 in attached to each end 4, such that there is a positive pole and a negative pole to each locking pin.

Refer now to FIG. 1 showing that at a 90 degree angle to the four locking pin holes, a ⅛ in depression 5 is drilled into the wooden spool. These will be used for a stopping pin to drop into to stop the lock cylinder's rotation 6, as reflected in FIGS. 4 and 7 in FIG. 5.

Refer now to FIG. 5 showing the central lock cylinder placed between the top and bottom halves of a clamshell base. The spool rests in the bottom half, which has four 2/8 inch depression 8 that match the positions for the locking pins. The locking pins themselves are inserted here, and the spool placed on top. Locking pins will rest in these base depressions, preventing cylinder rotation, until a complementary magnetic lockpick draws the locking pin into the body of the cylinder, as shown in 9 FIG. 4.

Drill a 2/8 inch hole in the upper half of the base 7 that wall intersect the ⅛ inch depressions on the cylinder as shown in FIG. 5. This will be for a stopping pin that prevents rotation upon puzzle completion. 

1. A magnetic puzzle lock apparatus, comprising of: a hinged, clamshell style body with a cylindrical void, that encloses a central lock cylinder with a keyway passage along the long axis and four sockets arranged perpendicular to the keyway, where four locking pins with permanent magnets attached on each end, made such that each pin has a positive and negative polarity, can be fit into the aforementioned sockets, such that at rest, force of gravity draws them into a position straddling the shear line between the cylinder and the body, thus preventing free rotation of the central cylinder, wherein players then insert one of eight double sided “lockpicks,” represented as long rods with a rectangular cross section, each having four permanent magnets on either end, covering the sixteen possible magnetic combinations that the locking pins can be in, such as ++++, +++−, ++−+, et al, through −−−−, wherein the players then receive tile feedback through vibrations transmitted as a complementary locking pin impacts the lockpick, wherein the players also receive auditory feedback from the sound of impact, wherein the players then successfully deduce and insert a lockpick with the correct complementary magnetic combination into the keyway, it attracts all the locking pins into a position that clears the shear line, allowing the central cylinder to be rotated approximately ninety degrees, whereupon an arresting pin will drop due to force of gravity into a groove set into the central cylinder to arrest the rotational motion, simulating a successfully opened lock.
 2. According to claim 1, the puzzle has the ability to quickly reset the combination to one of sixteen possible variations by opening up the clamshell housing, removing the four magnetized locking pins, randomizing their order, reinserting them into the central locking cylinder, and closing the housing. 